Phase One: Development

Family practices strive to deliver quality care to their patients. However, there is currently no yardstick for a practice to measure its improvement. As the health care system increases in complexity, a quality framework that supports a continuous quality improvement (CQI) environment is vital.

The Quality in Family Practice project (Phase 1) is an exploratory study designed to recommend the best interdisciplinary assessment programme for family practice offices in Ontario. Several Canadian studies are working on quality indicators and some provinces have started to implement quality programmes. The Quality project has reviewed the national and international literature; completed an environment scan; conducted focus groups with patients, staff and practitioners; held teleconferences with national and international programme leaders, and visited sites in the UK and Ontario that operate quality programmes. These data, together with input from a Steering Committee of clinicians, staff and patients, and an Advisory Committee of key stakeholders, have provided the Project Management Team with information for developing a process for achieving excellence.

The Primary Health Care Transition Fund (PHCTF) funded the two-staged Quality project for the purpose of recommending a process for achieving excellence in family practices in Ontario. In Stage One, a collaborative consultation was undertaken with patients, family physicians, nurses, other health care professionals, and administrative support staff to develop a model for an Ontario Quality Programme.